


Hook, Line, and Sinker

by AlwaysWithEntropy



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Developing Relationship, Former Mer!Tony, I'm Bad At Tagging, Injury Recovery, M/M, MerMay, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Whales, mer!loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 11:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19018855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysWithEntropy/pseuds/AlwaysWithEntropy
Summary: There was clean up needing to be done. Tony repeatedly washed his hands in the sink to get clean off the blood sticking to them and got rid of the bloody towels and wet washcloths. Wiping up all the water on both floors, he cleaned the bloody trail leading to the bathroom. After it was all done he was went to go buy fish in the town. After he stocked the refrigerator, Tony checked in on the resident merman who wasn’t awake yet. He hoped the merman wouldn’t be dead in the morning.





	Hook, Line, and Sinker

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far congrats! On a side note it is my first merpeople story ever so WHOOOO! *throws confetti* .... now back to more important things. Thank you to Greenishio and Commander Quill for helping to beta and helping me out in general with this mess! I really don't think I could have done it without you guys... :)))

Suffice to say, Tony and water had a complicated relationship.

He avoided it like the plague, although its siren song was so very tempting. He desperately wanted to return to the sea and the freedom of open water where he was at the mercy of the currents and where life was blissfully simpler. He missed his old life more than he would admit,  
but it was too late for him. 

He shook head attempting to dislodge his traitorous thoughts. The land was better than water could ever be...right? 

Tony truly regretted letting Pepper book his vacation for him. It wasn’t until he boarded the plane that he learned it was going to take place at a secluded beach house. 

As he explored the house he saw it was of course very lavish and modern. Upstairs in the large master bedroom, there was a huge bed that could fit four people, a spacious bathroom with an oversized tub, a nearby shower and two-person vanity. Finishing up the inspection of the second floor there were two other smaller guest rooms and another separate bathroom. The downstairs had an open floor plan with a large kitchen. There was a decently sized fireplace and above the mantle of it, a huge flat screen TV rested. Forming a square around it was a couch and some armchairs. 

Paintings where hung tastefully around the interior and a few throw rugs were laid on the wooden floors approximately where the living room was. One of the defining features of the house was a large glass panel and glass sliding doors that let large amounts natural light spill in. It gave the inhabitant a splendid view of the ocean revealing that the only thing that separated him from the water was yards of white sand. Through the glass, he could even see a pool which he had no intention of touching. 

Everything was to his satisfaction except for one glaring detail, it’s proximity to the sea. 

He pulled out his phone. “Pepper”, he whined as it connected. “Is it too late to change locations?” He could already hear the eye roll. 

“Tony, I already paid for the vacation. You’ve been so stressed lately. You need to escape for a while and a nice place by the seaside will be good for you. Now turn off your phone and relax,” and with those parting words she hung up leaving no room for argument. 

Tony groaned and flopped on the couch. He lazily rolled his head over to stare at the beach. The clear water surged forward on the sand with little waves then quickly receded. Tony imagined the water goading him, reminding him of what he lost. He grabbed one of the plush pillows propped up on the couch and smashed his face against to muffle his groan. It was going to be a long vacation.

That night he crawled underneath the covers of his bed and tried to ignore the sound of the waves calling to him. Tony stared at the ceiling tracing imaginary patterns in it with eyes. Closing his eyes Tony tried to fall asleep hindered by the fact his whole body felt like he was on fire, mind racing at the revelation that the ocean was right there next to him. The distance between them could be closed with only a few strides. He could do it, he touch the water if he wanted. There was nothing that could stop him if he so chose to.

Nevertheless, he refrained from doing so and it killed him. The cold water would feel so soothing on his uncomfortably hot skin. It was as if he could feel the phantom touches of the water caressing him, surrounding him with its watery embrace like it used to. The ocean breeze and scent nearly overwhelmed his meticulously constructed barriers against temptations. If he dared to touch there was no telling what would happen.

Vacation? More like torture, to be so close to the one thing he could no longer have.

There was a ceaseless voice in his head imploring him to go to the water that was getting harder to ignore in the silence of his room only interrupted by the sound of the waves enticing the voice to speak louder. He tossed and turned unable to find a comfortable position. Moonlight spilled into Tony’s room from an unfortunately large window that allowed him to see a large swath of the ocean at this higher vantage point, the moonlight reflecting off the water in a peaceful scene.

Sleep eluded him for the better part of the night. 

That morning he trudged downstairs in a fluffy robe keeping his eyes downcast to avoid looking at the water which had tormented him all night. Fidgeting as he waited for the coffee to be done, his eyes kept flickering toward the glass door. How easy it would be to open them and go to the ocean letting the waves lap at his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fist as he forced himself to focus at a point on the wall rather than the inviting sounds of the sea. 

The tension in his shoulders left when the coffee machine was finally done and he could physically remove himself from the room where the ocean view would be too distracting, yet he was unable to stop himself from moving to where the ocean was out of his line of sight. So he pulled out one of the island stools and stared unblinking at the beach. He gripped his mug tighter as he miserably drank his coffee and forced himself to think of the good things that came out of his decision to stay on land. Tony used the pain of drinking way too hot coffee as a distraction when he felt too sorry for himself. He thought he could hold his desire at bay because he didn’t pack any swimwear but he later discovered going through the drawers that Pepper had thought ahead and bought him one. Curse Pepper for being the very best CEO! 

Needing to be as far away from the ocean as possible, for the next two days, Tony explored the town that was located near his vacation beach house. It was a picturesque place fitting for a postcard with small shops and a local grocery and farmers market. His hands itched for something to tinker with, but Pepper had forbidden him from working on break and personally went through his luggage and found every single hidden thing he packed. 

What could he do that didn’t involve the ocean? Scavenging around the house for ideas, he managed to find a few books on sailing and other nautical things, a singular cookbook and some alcohol. Perusing through his findings, Tony tossed away the nautical ones because sailing meant ocean and the ocean was bad. That left him with two options: cooking and alcohol. The alcohol was just as tempting as the ocean, but Tony knew that alcohol would impair his reasoning and function and decided not to chance it so close to the sea. Tony browsed through the recipe index and decided on something simple and quick, pasta. He sauntered down to the grocery store and stocked up of ingredients for the recipe and future recipes. 

He really did try to to be interested and successful in cooking to distract himself from the unrelenting summons of the sea but all it took for him to give up was his noodles to over boil when he zoned out gazing at where water and sky meet in a clash of blue. 

He was down to his last final backup options, TV or taking a walk. Or the ocean his mind unhelpfully supplied. He glanced outside once more, the sun high overhead glinted off the water making it look exceptionally inviting. Tony grimaced. He had to resist. Painfully turning his head away tearing his eyes from the pristine waters and seafoam, he looked toward the front door of the beach house. He was going to go on a nice long walk on land. It was dark when he came home as he walked endless circles in the town avoiding the sea and tourists wet from the beaches trying to block out the ocean. He was stopped quite of few times by helpful locals who thought he was lost. It was all in vain as the home to return to was unavoidably next to the sea. He unlocked the front door and walked into the foyer locking the door behind him. The moonlight once against illuminated the beach and calm water. Immediately he could feel it’s magnetic pull. 

His breathing sped up as his whole body trembled. He slowly slipped off his shoes. Taking a step forward, he watched himself detached as his body moved on its own accord toward the water. His eyes darted around in his head. He closed his eyes willing his body to stop yet it was unresponsive to his wishes. He had reached the glass doors and Tony’s treacherous hand made a move to grab the handle. Tony was desperately trying to defy and delay his body actions as his mind scrambled for a way to get his body to stop. Think of his company, his accomplishments, his friends, Pepper, Rhodey anything as he fought the impulse to go to the water. He felt trapped. His thoughts shifted to darker thoughts of torture in Afghanistan. Forced to keep his head underwater starving his body of oxygen. Tony’s heart beat loudly in his ribcage as he seemed frozen in the moment as his chest constricted and wheezed trying to get air into his lungs. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore and Tony collapse in the throes of his panic attack. On the floor, his body instinctively curled into fetal position as he made himself relax and take slow if not heaving breaths. Tony lay there on the cold wooden floor collecting his mental faculties back. He weakly stood up and stumbled to the stairs clutching the railing as he pulled himself up and away from the nightmarish glass doors. He stripped and took a shower as long as he dared and slunk into bed passing out from mental exhaustion. 

He woke up in darkness since he never re-opened the curtains covering the window. He got out of bed and felt around for a light switch. Dressing in comfortable shorts and a T-shirt, he took a deep breath to discern how he felt from last night’s ordeal. He winced at the full-blown panic at not being able to fight against the draw of the ocean. He was brought back to the present with a well-timed rumble of his stomach. He pattered the down the stairs and walked into the kitchen soon filled with the smell of coffee. Tony munched on a bagel as he squirmed sinking into the comfy couch. He turned on the TV to drown his thoughts of the ocean with some mindless violence. Yet watching reality TV and actions movies did not captivate his attention as he hoped. He found that he had to catch himself and force himself to pay attention to the screen lest he miss important plot pieces as his eyes would unconsciously drifting toward the sliding glass doors that led to the ocean or his focus from going to thoughts about water. After missing the majority of the storylines and subsequently not understanding the plot twists Tony gave up the pretense that he was even remotely trying to keep his eyes off the water. 

He was quickly running out of options of this to do that didn’t involve seawater. There was only so many places you can re-explore or dishes you can burn without it becoming boring. He almost did a double take when he found himself playing Angry Birds to pass the time. Most of the time he couldn’t stop himself from morosely staring at the beach and the waves and he had to snap himself out of his funk. The land was good! It represented more possibilities than the water ever could! Water was restricting. He wouldn't want to go back and give up everything he had built for himself here, could he? That would be crazy! 

 

That night he dreamt his tail returned replacing his feeble human legs. Sweet jubilation! He grinned and reached to feel the slits of his gills. He laughed. All around him was the open ocean and his heart swelled. There was a charm to the city skyline with its towering skyscrapers, however, it couldn’t compare to the miles of endless blue that was the open ocean. With a flick of his tail, he was off flipping and doing tricks in the water he hadn’t done for years. He relaxed a smile on his face basking in the moment. He reclined on his back occasionally giving a kick to propel himself making sure he didn’t sink. Tony was content to let the current take him in water ever direction it was going, relishing in the feeling of the water encompassing him. He mingled with a pod of short-beaked common dolphins and conversed with whales. Tony felt whole and at peace. He was where he belongs for once in his life. 

He woke up angry. Why couldn’t his mind understand that he couldn’t go back to the way things used to be! THERE WAS NO HOPE! He was 100% human all traces of mermaid were erased! His mind stubbornly refused to believe it. Wasn’t the torture in Afghanistan enough to prove it? He would receive nothing but pain if he stepped a foot into the water. Any water interaction would end in disappointment as it would inevitably have to end. Furthermore, any experience would be a muted version of what he could do in the past. Why could he not wrap his head around that! He stayed in bed the whole day restless. He closed his eyes to sleep during the day but the image of the ocean was branded into his retinas and that was the only thing he could see. 

He rolled out of bed the next day craving coffee. Holding the mug to his lips he sipped it carefully. The caffeine worked its way through his body waking up his brain. He deeply breathed in and out as the desire to go the water returned full force. He staggered under its weight bracing himself on the island countertop. He let himself slide to the floor and drank his coffee hiding from the ocean praying for it to leave him alone. Dark shadows were starting to form under his eyes from many days of fitful sleep. Why couldn’t he be left alone… why? He was running out of energy to reject the ocean's invitation. He was too tired to do anything and the ocean kept singing to him. The god awful song that made his heart soar and fueled his desire. Tears collected in the corners of his eyes. It never stopped even for one moment. He needed to get away, but where? He was utterly trapped in the terrible beach house. Dragging himself over to the stairs, eyes averted from the glass doors he pitifully heaved himself up the stairs letting the self loathing distract him. The little bit of energy he had left was devoted to focusing on anything that was not the water. He was at a breaking point he just wanted sleep. 

It was a miracle he made it to his room. Crashing onto the pillows he whimpered at how good it felt. Of course, he had gone many nights without sleep before, but that was doing something he loved; this was an entirely new playground and Tony couldn’t cope. He shifted; he was uncomfortably warm. Tony kicked off his covers to release some of his heat. It helped but only a little. His eyes flew open to rest his gaze on the window. He slinked out of bed and struggled to open it. He pushed and the ocean air came rushing in rapidly cooling his body. He let out an inventory sigh of pleasure. He walked back to the bed letting the ocean air circulate throughout the room. The sound waves danced through the open window crooning a soft lullaby that lured Tony. It felt so good and Tony’s resistance melted away. Tony’s breathing became softer and his eyes drooped lower and lower while he sank into a blissful sleep. 

His resolve not to touch the water broke. He just woke up with the sound of the waves crescendoing in his ears and made the executive decision to play in the water and suddenly felt free. Changing quickly into his swimsuit he forewent his morning coffee and dashed down the stairs. Adrenaline circulated through his system and he vibrated with excitement. The smile never once leaving his face. Tony threw open the sliding glass door with glee delighting when the sea air hit him. He gulped it down greedily like a drowning man. The sound of the waves hitting the sand was music to his ears. He took his first step onto the white sand and his bare feet sunk in. He was so ready, kicking up sand on his sprint to the water. He was so close just a few feet from the waves when he stopped dead in his tracks. 

 

What the heck was he doing! His beautiful tail was gone. The water was never going to feel the same as it did before he traded his tail for legs. The certain freedom he felt in the water was lost forever as he voluntarily shackled himself to land. It was better to remember the ocean as it once was then to tarnish its memories. His joyful disposition was replaced with a more sullen one and his smile faded. He slowly backtracked as his mind screamed at him to go those last few feet to touch the water. Once he was far enough away from the ocean waves he collapsed into the soft sand and curled into himself. He was not going to cry. He had a good life on land. There was hardly anything waiting for him in the ocean. 

His mind whispered to him then why do you have this feeling of longing hmmm?

Was it just him or did the frequency of the waves increase as if they were angry as they almost claimed what was originally theirs? Tony belonged to the land now and it already had a piece of Tony’s heart. Sure there were downsides but there wasn’t a place you could go that didn’t have them. The sand was warm underneath him and he slowly sat upright. The land was his home now. The water was in his past there was no use sulking about it. He grabbed a handful of sand and let it run through his fingers. He might have a little fun before he went inside to clean up all the sand stuck to him. 

 

So that is how Tony ended up building a sandcastle to amuse himself though he strategically placed it far away from the sea. The waves desperately tried reaching Tony but he was too far up on the beach. Tony aggressively hummed to his favorite tune disregarding the ocean’s cries of “come back!”. He made sure only to use tap water instead of the sea water when mixing the sand to the proper consistency. He was looking for something to decorate it with when he spotted the perfect seashell. The problem was it was in the zone the waves touched before they recede back into the sea. He was at war with himself. Would he risk getting wet for the shell that would make the perfect drawbridge door sandcastle? The answer to that question was yes. The water meant nothing to him… it had to. He took a deep breath steeling himself. As long as he didn’t touch the water it would be okay. As Tony got the closer the faster his heart raced being so close to what he had denied himself for so long. The sound of the waves got louder in his ears and the seagulls overhead screeched out a warning. The air was salty with the ocean breeze and it was a drug to his systems he didn’t notice he arrived at his destination the seashell at his feet. The sand was wet underneath his feet and that is when he knew he had made a big mistake. 

Before he could react a small wave hit and the cold water reached his feet. The sudden change in temperature gave him goosebumps, but all he could feel is euphoria. All his thoughts were consumed and replaced with a desire for MORE. Without out a second thought, he splashed into deeper water and like an excited kid plunged into the shallow water submerging himself in it fully, thrilled at the feeling of the rapid change of temperature. His happiness bubbled like a shaken carbonated drink. It was euphoric as Tony’s whole body came alive in the water and he felt refreshed. Surfacing on his back he took a few playful backstroke strokes before flipping on his stomach once more and going under. He tried opening his eyes underwater and instantly regretting it. He reared out of the water frantically his eyes stinging. He forgot he could no longer do that. That instantly killed the mood. He glumly sat in the water, shoulders hunched and drawn. The cold water now seemed to register in his mind as he shivered. He couldn’t have this anymore, not fully at least. He could be in the water and that was it. He couldn’t propel himself will his tail and freely admire the ocean in all it’s watery glory without help and still, it wouldn't be permanent. He couldn’t have the water envelop him in its embrace without getting cold or having to break the tranquility by going up for air. 

He ruined the ocean for himself and he was reminded of the saying you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Life was a cruel joke. He floated on his back letting the water once again surround him. The gentle push and pull of the waves were soothing and the call of the water was getting stronger even though he was already in it. It was calling him deeper and farther away from land to the open ocean, his former home. Who was he to resist? He had already come this far what was one more urge to satisfy? In the water, he wasn’t Tony Stark billionaire, playboy philanthropist but on land he was. Tony hated land with a passion right at that moment. He fought to keep his body still as he tamped down the urge to hit something. He was reminded of everything that happened to him thanks to land dwellers, Obadiah Stane, the Ten Rings. Humans had numerous flaws that heavily outweighed their good qualities and now he was one. His face twisted in disgust. How could he ever have thought that becoming human was a good idea. His eyes focused on the sky and stared at the puffy clouds. He was overcome with a frantic urge to get as far away from land as possible.

He stood up water sloshing off his body. He didn’t bother toweling off as he wanted to be close to the water as possible. Water dripped off him forming a small trail where he walked through the house a confident stride and a steady pace as he walked out the door barefoot only stopping to snag a jacket with his wallet on the way out. He made his way down to the town and went straight to the port. He rented a boat practically throwing cash at the owner and maneuvered it out of its docking site and into the sea. Impatiently pushing the boat to go faster he tapped his foot on the floor of the boat as the wind whipped past his face and the land became smaller and smaller. He continued straight until he could no longer see the mainland and then some, however, he made sure he had enough to get back. Killing the engine he took off his jacket and without any ceremony hopped over the edge of the boat and into the ocean with a splash. His head emerged from the water and he wiped away the water from his eyes. 

He craned his head to look around. His vision only included long stretches of blue in every direction only marred by the boat. The waves lightly hit the side of the boat with a small slapping sound and he relaxed once more onto his back. He felt sated and content. Closing his eyes he let his thoughts drift away. He was almost in heaven, his peace only broken when he had to make sure he wasn’t floating too far from the boat. The water revitalized him and his body thrummed with an energy he didn’t remember having before. The rocking of the waves coaxed him into a blithe and sleepy haze and he lost all sense of time just floating in the water. He loathed when it would have to end. The very thing he was trying to avoid. The unfathomable letdown of having to leave and he knew he started a terrible cycle where he would keep doing this again and again and again just to have the few seconds where all his problems were washed away by the salt water only to find them waiting patiently for him at the shore. 

He uncomprehendingly watched the clouds float by as he laid there suspended by the ocean’s loving arms. He occasionally dived under the water when the exposed part of his body started to dry. In his routine that is where he heard it. He came back up immediately to suck in a large lung full of air and returned to underneath the waves. It was a whale song. He listened to the throaty tunes and tried to decipher what they were saying. He had forgotten most of it due to disuse but he could hear the tinge of panic that underlying their song. He managed to pick out the words “help, quick, and follow.” 

Tony’s brows furrowed. The whale's speech was broken as he cursed his human anatomy as the lowest frequencies were lost to him. He surfaced for air and then returned to listening. The song was getting louder. He popped up breaking the surface and looked around to see if he could spot the whales. Treading water he turned his head looking for the signs of a whale breaching. As much as he loathed it he swam back to the boat and he climbed aboard anyway to get a better vantage point. 

Leaning over the side of the boat he strained his neck to see farther when the whale in question knocked into the boat. The sudden jolt made Tony’s eyes go wide as he fell over the side flailing. He sputtered and started coughing when he came up. The whale was right there or should he say whales, as there was a second one a little farther off. The whale gently sunk into the waves again as did Tony to hear what it was saying. The deep baritone of the whale reverberated in his ears as it sang. 

There was a long note of “need help” and a quicker more panicked trill of “now”. It was followed up by a high pitched whine which transitioned into a throaty howl. The crescendo coming from the whale was disrupted by a mournful cry emanating from the second whale. Something about a friend? Tony was missing huge gaps of information with the words he couldn’t understand, but for a person with his level of intelligence it wasn't hard to put two and two together; the whale's friend was in trouble. 

Tony kicked up the surface for air for a quick second before returning to the water. He hoped one of the whales was watching. Tony couldn’t remember how to sign “where?” so instead he signed “yes” hoping the whales would understand as his pathetic human larynx could not recreate the correct sounds to form a response. He was suddenly hit with a huge wave of water as the whale started to move.

Tony popped up air for gasping. He hurriedly swam back to his boat sloshing water on the floor when he pulled himself up. Tony turned the key bringing the engine to life with a roar as Tony trained his eyes on the whales leaving the area. They stayed close to the surface sometimes flicking their tail out of the water so Tony could keep track of them as he followed behind. Tony wondered where they were leading him. It took a while but he eventually saw something in the distance bobbing on the surface of the water. It got larger and larger as they got closer. He slowed the boat down as he pulled alongside the mess and gagged. The whales did not dare get any closer to the immense mess of ghost fishing nets floating in the water. There was trash as well a few marine carcasses tangled in the multicolored mess. He did not want to see what was happening underwater. He scanned the mess. He didn’t see anything noteworthy and turned to look at the whales who were swimming circles around the nets. Where was there friend? He must have thought too soon because a flash of movement caught Tony’s eyes. 

The weak thrashing was enough to signal Tony that something was still alive and in need of rescue. He hurriedly went through the entire boat and ransacked it. He triumphantly raised the knife he found in the air and dove in the water swimming toward the origin of the thrashing. He was horrified when he caught the sight of pale skin and dark hair. Their thrashing ended and they laid trapped in the nets, facedown. From his vantage point in the water, he couldn’t see much just the shoulders and the head. As Tony got closer he could see more and he experienced a mix of horror as he noticed that the nets wrapped around the man’s chest cut into the person’s skin and the person was so cold some of their skin was turning blue although he couldn’t see much he didn’t really want to see more. 

Tony grabbed at the man's shoulders careful not to hurt the man with the nice he was also holding, “Hey can you hear me?” he shouted. The man did not respond and Tony shook him just a little terror mounting, “Hey! Don’t die on me! I’m here to help you!” 

The man’s head rolled back at the treatment exposing a heavily bruised neck but that is not what caught Tony’s attention first. What really drew his eyes was the things on his neck as the man’s hair floated around the person's head like a dark halo. From Tony’s view from above the water, it looked like they had gills...He reached oh a tentative hand to touch retracting it like he had been burned when they fluttered at his touch.

 

Tony breathed out a soft, “Oh” ...this wasn’t just a man it was a merman! That explained why the whales had called him a friend. 

The merman’s eyes suddenly flew open in fear at the sight of Tony. They aggressively lashed out thrashing harder making the nets dig into sensitive skin as the merman tried to blindly get away. Sharp teeth sought to draw blood, but Tony only had to swim a few feet away out of the merman’s reach and waited for the merman to tire out. It didn’t take long in the merpersons weakened state. The man slumped after awhile giving up and Tony slowly approached. He could have almost sworn there was a flash of light but he dismissed it. 

Tony cautiously approached in case the merman tried to attack him again, “Hey I am not here to hurt you.” He waved the blade he was holding around, “I am here to cut you free.” As he made his way back to the merman’s side it turns out he wasted his breath as the merman passed out after exerting all that energy; it was a bad sign, but it made Tony’s job easier. 

He immediately went to work sawing the merperson free being careful not to cut himself on the net or accidentally cutting the merman who he was cutting the net off of. He felt uncomfortable touching the stranger but the water distorted the image of the nets entangling the merman so Tony had to rely on touch. As he gently sawed through the net careful not to cut the merman. While he methodically cut ropes his mind raced. He wondered how this person got so thoroughly stuck. Merpeople didn’t normally dwell directly at the surface. So how did this one get stuck in a net on the surface?

The severed net strands floated away from the unconscious merman as Tony hacked away at more of the netting. He got rid of the netting that obscured a lot of the torso freeing the merperson dorsal fin and arm. Tony sliced through a little bit more and thinking he did enough he moved the knife to his mouth so he could use two hands to pull the merman out of the tangle of nets. He gave a tug but the merman was still stuck. Tony tugged harder but his efforts bore no fruit. He huffed at the effort and ran his hand through his wet hair. How entangled was this merman? 

Then he blinked. He wiped the water away from his eyes just make sure he was seeing what he was seeing correctly. There were small red trails in the water originating from the merman. The nets left a plethora of cuts where it dug in caused by all thrashing and they were freely bleeding. 

Tony’s breathing sped up. The blood might attract sharks and he had run out of netting his could cut without going underwater. He closed his eyes and forced his heart not to beat so forcefully in his chest. He took a deep breath and went underwater. He groped around for the merman’s tail which was probably resumed his frantic work in severing the nets pushing down the panic. He groped around feeling for netting probably trapping the merman’s tail. He blushed underwater when he felt the smooth scales as tail touching was a very intimate act. He pushed the thought away. He slid his hand down father until he felt the net. He latched onto it and started to get to work. After a minute his lungs burned and forced him to surface. He repeatedly went from above the water to under it as he had to make look for the next piece of net to cut which got harder the deeper he went. 

Tony gave another tug ...nothing. He gritted his teeth as he went back under. After he cut a good amount he broke the surface of the water again taking heaving breaths. He let his breathing become normal before moving the knife to his mouth. He was reasonably sure this time that he could get the merman out. Tony scrambled to get a grip on the man and grabbed at his shoulders to pull them out of the tangle of nets. His eyes stung as the water splashed upwards as he jerked away from the merman from the nets, but he had no time to be happy when the merman actually moved. Hooking an arm around the man he struggled to tread water while trying move toward the boat. He could feel the merman’s ribs and he cringed. He kept having to adjust his grip on the man as he swam and he shivered every time his arm accidentally brushed the numerous cuts on the man’s body. The merman offered no resistance at the treatment and it terrified Tony. He made sure to speed up his motions 

He swam to the boat supporting the merman trying to get the body to stay on the surface so Tony could board then pull the merman up. He tried to straighten the merman on his back but Tony was exhausted and the merman was heavy. When the deed was finally and painstakingly done Tony clambered aboard the boat and grabbed the limp merman underneath the armpits and tried his best to gently heave the merman out of the water and onto the boat. His muscles strained and protested as he was not prepared for the weight even if it was clear the merman had not eaten in a while. 

He gave one last yank and fell back with an “Oof” with the merman landing on top of him. The spines of the dorsal fin of the merman dug into his skin and Tony struggled to get the merman’s crushing weight off his chest. He at least tried to gently rolled the merman over and off his chest but it didn’t quite work out and the merman rolled onto the floor of the boat with a sickening “thump”. His eyes widened and he moved to get the merman onto his back instead of his stomach, easing the merman onto his back on the floor of the boat.

Tony examined the merman now he could better see the extent of the damage the net caused without the water obscuring anything. He winced even though he wasn’t the one that was hurt. The man’s glittering green scales had long lost its luster and the man was very thin. The nets had cut him in hundreds of places and painfully rubbed away scales. He felt sick when he saw the end of the tail. The membrane was shredded. He felt the bile rise to his throat. The lacerations littering the man's torso and other cuts were freely bleeding and Tony was afraid. The merman needed medical attention but he couldn’t get it here. Interestingly enough Tony could have sworn the merperson had bruises on his neck before. Tony was glad he was mistaken though. 

His mind was reeling; he needed to find the first aid kit. He shakily stood up and froze. Tony looked down at himself and felt nauseous. He was covered in bloody water. His mind shut down and he threw himself back into the water to clean off the blood. His mind was a broken record of “oh my god oh my god oh my god”. He needed to calm down but he couldn’t. He splashed salt water into his face to shock himself back into the now. The only effect it had was that his eyes now hurt. Who knew saltwater did that he thought sarcastically. He choked out a laugh. Tony had totally forgotten about the whales until came closer and a large eye peered at him. He ducked underneath the water to see if the whales had anything else to say. The melodious notes coming from the whale indicated that they were happy. Then a rich low sound was issued by one of the whales chorused by the second. 

“Keep him safe.” 

Though he couldn’t see the where the whales were in the water he nodded hoping they understood. The whales disappeared silently. Feeling relatively better Tony traversed back to the boat and was stunned as he momentarily forgot there was a bleeding merman on the floor of his boat. Crap... He shivered and his skin prickled with goosebumps as his bare feet stood in the bloody water covering the floor of the boat. He gritted his teeth as he retrieved the first aid kit and a bucket. He carefully stepped over the body trying not to throw up at the scent of blood permeating in the air. Tony scooped up some sea water and gingerly poured the water over the man’s body washing away the blood and making sure to wet the gills so the merman wouldn’t asphyxiate and die. He regulated his breathing as he immediately got to working unlatching the first aid kit and reached for the gauze and bandages. Tony looked at the packaging and swore. They were not waterproof so they were going to get soaked nor did he have enough to wrap up all the buts but he didn’t have anything else on hand. Tony distracted himself as he worked so he didn’t have to focus too hard on the amount of blood this man was losing. He applied pressure for a minute re-coating his hands in blood before wrapped the wounds up as best he could in the short amount of time he had. He needed to get better supplies on land. He swooned as he re-checked his work as the blood was staining the bandages red already. 

He got another bucket full of water and cautiously poured a little over the man’s gills again and he used the rest to wash off some of the blood on the floor of the boat. He took his discarded jacket and bunched it up to make a makeshift pillow for the merman to rest his head on. He frowned sorry that he couldn’t make the man a little more comfortable but on the boat he was limited. Tony revved up the engine and drove out of there high speed making his way back toward land. Tony urged the boat to go faster. The frequent stops he had to make to keep the stranger's gills wet didn’t help at all only serving on to heighten his panic that this person was going to die right next to him. The bandages were thoroughly soaked with a mixture of water and blood but he didn’t have enough to time or bandages to re-wrap them. 

He praised whatever deity when the mainland came into sight. He felt like he was never going to get there. He glanced down at the merman on the floor of the boat. He was stilled passed out thank goodness. His eyes widened and he stopped the boat. He quickly knelt down and Tony checked for a pulse and prayed. There was a faint beat and Tony let out a huge sigh of relief and fell back on his butt overwhelmed by the fact he wasn’t boating around with a dead body. 

It took a minute but he shakily got back up and poured some more water over the guy’s gills and continued forward. He could see the port but he veered over toward were his beach house was approximately and purposefully ran the boat aground near the beach house. He would pay for the damages later. He grabbed the merman again and dragged him into the water with a splash the water around them faintly turning pink... He felt bad for dragging him but he was to darn heavy for anything else. He left the merman close to shore letting him sink to the bottom of the shallows as he ran inside trying not to slip on the wood floors. He looked for a large pot in the kitchen and ran back outside. 

He realized how inefficient this his plan was but right now he had no alternative. Tony couldn’t fix him up in the ocean so he had to bring him inside his house somehow. He scooped up some salt water in the pot and began the painstaking process of filling up the bathtub in his bathroom up. His wet footprints made the trek back and forth dangerous but he ran anyway almost slipping a few times. He was running high on adrenaline as he went up and down the stair. Whenever he felt his energy flagging he looked at the body of the half-dead merman and was instantly re-motivated in his task. 

The large bathtub wasn’t even full when he stopped but he could fill it up later when the merman wasn’t urgently needing medical attention. For now, it would serve to just keep him alive and damp as it would cover the merman if positioned correctly in a curled position under an inch of water while he figured out exactly what this merman needed. He loathed the thought of pulling the poor thing across the sand so he snatched a few soft towels from the bathroom closet. He hurriedly returned to the water soaking the towels and wrapped them carefully around the tail of the merman. Tony hauled him onto the sand and into the house. He sucked in a breath contemplating the stairs. 

“I am so sorry for this,” he said the stranger as Tony dragged him up each step with a terrible thump as the merman’s tail hit each one as they ascended. At each step, Tony profusely apologized to the unconscious merman who probably would be screaming in pain if he was awake. Fear coursed through Tony as the movement caused the person’s wounds to start bleeding some more. He looked down at the steps. They had left the towel behind at some point and without it to catch the blood there was a small trail of it leading upstairs. Tony gagged. He brought the stranger into the bathroom. He took the kitchen pot once more for some more seawater to wash off the blood before he put the merman into the bathtub. The bandages and gauze were trashed as they were bogged down with water but he left them on for now until he could buy more he applied some pressure just trying to stop some of the bleeding. He needed to stop the bleeding because he couldn’t just take the merman to the hospital to get a blood transfusion. It was a herculean effort to get the person into the tub. The water turned pink from the blood bandages but Tony was already out the door with his wallet. He ditched the washcloth he brought with him to wipe off his hands of any blood and water by the side of the road as he sprinted to the nearest pharmacy. 

He couldn’t imagine what he looked like buying out all the waterproof bandages and just grabbing everything off the shelf that might help. He basically threw the money at the stunned cashier and dashed out the door. He going to make his way back when he had a thought and tracked down a local who pointed him in the direction of where he could be what he wanted just in case. He journeyed back to the vacation house arms loaded bags. He made his back to the bathtub with the merman soaking in red water. His bit his thumb trying to figure out how he should approach this. He needed the merman dry for this. The merman would be uncomfortable if he woke up during the process which was an understatement but it was a small price to pay for life. He took out another washcloth from the closet and set it aside. Tony then took the pot and went to get some more water. As he did he also took the first aid kit from the boat just in case. 

When he got back to the bathroom he laid some clean towels on the floor and took the merman out of the dirty water laying the merman on them. Tony gently patted the merman dry and soaking the washcloth in saltwater he covered the merman’s gills so he could breathe. He inspected the merman looking over the cuts which were slowly bleeding. He opted to focus on the larger cuts first which he fretted over not knowing if they needed stitches or not. There were a few of them both on the poor person’s upper body. He had the equipment for it from the first aid kit but his suturing skills were sorely lacking. He rummaged through his bags for all the superglue he bought. The cashier looked at him strangely when he did but Tony couldn’t have cared less.He didn’t feel too confident about this at all and his hands trembled while he unscrewed the cap to the first tube of superglue. 

Tony irrigated the wound with some more disinfectant and applied pressure to end the bleeding. He gingerly pinched the wound closed. He flinched when the merman tensed gills flaring against the washcloth and then slowly relaxed again. Tony took the tube keeping a hand on the merman to keep the wound closed and squeezed. The clear glue slowly was pushed out and dripped onto the mermen cut. Tony covered the wound in copious amounts of the super glue spreading it on the gash using a second tube. He waited for it to dry creating a watertight seal on the injury. He waited a few precious minutes before slowly removing his hand. The glue held and the unconscious let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He renewed the washcloth with more seawater before going to the other side of the merman to close the other wound. He discarded the used tube and got another one. 

His heart beat erratically in his chest as he worked to fix up the merman on the floor of his bathroom. Tony repeated the process of the cleaning the cut wiping excess fluid away. Whatever kept the merman unconscious Tony gave them many thanks. He took the superglue once more closing the wound by holding the two side of skin back together and pinched the tube making it excrete the potentially life-saving glue. He thoroughly doused the wound in it and gently blew to make it dry faster. He repeated the process a third time and just barely had enough superglue to seal it. After it was done he cautiously removed his hand from the merman’s body and inspected his handiwork. It was by no means pretty but for the most part, the bleeding had stopped. He turned his attention to the more numerous small cuts. He poured some iodine on some cotton pad and rubbed some on the more minor cuts. He debated using waterproof band-aids but there were way too many of them to be practical. He decided to use bandages and just wrap the merman up but he had to check rest first

He busied himself in his examination. He had to check the merman’s back but at a loss of how he should do it without potentially messing up all the effort, he put into the front. He as carefully as possible rolled the merman over onto his stomach. There seemed to be no major damage to the flesh except the typical cuts from the nets which Tony addressed. After that he checking the merman’s upper fins. Tony reverently ran his fingers over the collapsed dorsal fin on the merman’s spine. He gently pulled out the collapsed fin. The dorsal fin seemed fine and he brushed the spines back down. The fins on his arms were undamaged and Tony deemed it was okay now to wrap the merman up. He grabbed a roll of bandages and got to work. He wrapped the bandages around the merman’s chest and arms. He was sorry that he had to bind the dorsal fin but it had to be done. There was an advantage to this though as the merman could not scratch away at the superglue. 

The tail was an entirely different problem. He checked the tail fins first. The vertical pelvic fins looked fine too. It was the caudal fin that was in trouble. There was a series of long tears that reduced it to look a bit like fringe that he didn’t know if he could fix. He suspected glue would be quite ineffective. There were patches scales that were missing exposing terribly sensitive flesh that Tony did not know what to do with. It was vulnerable and to put anything on it would most likely irritate it. However Tony didn’t want it to get infected so he grappled with the issue but decided it was better to be safe than sorry and wrapped it up anyway. The merman could handle some discomfort in exchange for health. He cleaned the areas with disinfectant and covered them up and called it good. He felt bad as a merman and mermaids tail was a point of pride on how glittery yours was and how colorful. The deep green of this merman’s would be the envy of the sea only second best to him and his gorgeous red of course. He gave a huff of laughter at that. He shut up fast grimacing not letting the fact that he gave up his tail make him feel sad. 

He wondered how long the dude had been stuck like that waiting as the nets cut into skin as he fought to get free only to end but just ending up cutting himself more. He stood back up a few joints popping. He drained the bloody water from the tub and went on refilling it. He made sure to fill it up all the way this time. 

Tony grunted his limbs protesting as he moved the merman back into the tub. He thankfully didn’t destroy the superglue seal on the men's cuts and hope the bandages would do their job. He would have to change them frequently as they were not exactly made for long term exposure to salt water. He stared down at the merman located at the bottom of the tub. Tony knitted his eyebrows at the visible ribs of the merman. He would have to fix that.  
However there was clean up needing to be done. Tony repeatedly washed his hands in the sink to get rid of the blood sticking to them and got rid of the bloody towels and wet washcloths. He wiped up all the water on both floors and cleaned the bloody trail leading to the bathroom. After it was all done he was went to go buy fish in the town. He stocked the refrigerator and checked in on the resident merman who wasn’t awake yet. Tony hoped the merman wouldn’t be dead in the morning as he turned off the bathroom lights and went to prep for sleep. 

Tony took a shower in the other bathroom and brushed his teeth and went to bed peacefully for once as his desire for the ocean was partially sated by this morning's escape. 

He was woken up by a loud sound and a cry of pain coming from the bathroom. Tony catapulted out of bed and burst into the bathroom. The floor was sopping wet as the merman had somehow made it out of the tub and was thrashing around on the floor. The merman’s eyes were wide as they took in their surroundings and tore at bandages wrapped around them. The merman keened in pain as pure agony shot through him. The merman made eye contact with Tony for a split second and panicked and tried to scrabble backwards. However his tail usually his most important asset was hindering him on land and uselessly whipped around making smacking sounds as it repeatedly hit the floor, again and again, throwing up small droplets of water. It only caused more pain, but the terror overwhelmed all rational thought and the merman emitted more terrified yelps of pain. 

Tony had no idea what to do and before he could comprehend what he was doing he launched himself at the merman.

**Author's Note:**

> Well in all honesty I just wanted to post something for MerMay and I started this back in April so I could get it done early and it is still not even close to being done :P , but now I can say I did something for MerMay :)))) Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it!


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